On April 19, the film "Late Night with the Devil", beloved by both audiences and critics, was released on the streaming service Shudder. In Russian theaters, it will be released a little later—on June 6.

The extras in fancy Halloween costumes make their way into the studio: they are the lucky few who stood in line and got to attend the recording of a new, special episode of Jack Delroy's (David Dastmalchian) show called "Night Owls." Of course, tonight's guests are so-so, and the competing, more successful showman Johnny Carson is probably doing much better with his broadcast tonight, but you have to make do with what you have. Psychic Christou, ardent debunker of such charlatans and part-time magician Carmichael, and parapsychologist Dr. Ross-Mitchell along with her young ward Lily—they are all part of an episode on which the fate of the show and Jack himself depends. But what if the show ceases to be a clever producer's setup and turns into a real demonic nightmare involving everyone present?

If you visit any movie aggregator, you'll hardly see many horror films at the top of the sites, but those that are there can be roughly divided into three groups. Films from A24 (hello, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and everyone else), solid audience favorites ("Train to Busan," "It," "Alien"), and then there's that gray-red zone where the rest are relegated.

Their territory is quite unexplored and mysterious, because when you turn on films from there, you can stumble upon anything: here you have golden classics like "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" along with the Spanish "REC"; second-rate sequels ("Silent Hill 2," "Annabelle: Creation"); and low-budget trash from novice authors. However, in this pit are also those who have been horribly lost in this stream and haven't found their audience, for example, the horror-comedy "Willy's Wonderland" about animatronics fighting a mute Nicolas Cage, or the dramatic <a href="/b/post/18139">"Barbarian"</a> which reopens the idea of monsters in the basement. Unfortunately, "Late Night with the Devil" will also be among them.

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Open material

The slow-burn pacing characteristic of post-horror takes on a completely different, conceptual form here. To try to understand its specifics, there are two dissimilar films merging into one in this film—"The Blair Witch Project" and "Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood." From the first, "Late Night with the Devil" borrows documentary-style shooting and the "found footage" effect, while from Tarantino's masterpiece, it takes a meticulous stylization of 20th-century America. This is felt from the very first seconds of the film, when the viewer is presented with a fragment from the "film" about Jack Delroy. Along with the flares on grainy color videos and black-and-white photos in the form of a police report, there is the characteristic 1970s hollow sound of television audio.

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Open material

Everything that happens in one small studio can be described in a few words, while avoiding the thesis of "exorcism live." Such a generalization presents the film more in the format of "The Conjuring" with classic, bone-deep techniques and jump scares. Being a slow burn, "Late Night with the Devil" builds atmosphere using completely different methods, such as elements of body horror, well-timed jump scares, and creepy faces as subliminal flashes. Along with the main character, the viewer finds themselves in a situation where we seem to know the basic structure of the evening broadcast, but improvisation and guests with their quirks can change the script in a second. The viscous uncertainty moves along with the show itself, and all we have to do is watch it and wait for the next twist.

The mystical component coexists closely with the mundane, forming in this synergy a nearly imperceptible and subdued psychologism. Thus, the rapid and inexplicable lung cancer in a non-smoking wife rhymes with the cruel ritual payment for fame, and the presidential election that made the whole country glued to their screens reminds us that behind all events are powerful white men from a forest cult. The theme of power over people, especially through media, is as important here as the supernatural, invisibly inhabiting every corner of the studio.

Watching "Late Night with the Devil" fully pays off its peculiarities, which may seem like excessive kitsch and something very experimental. But this experiment first makes you simply interested in the bizarre broadcast, then gradually but powerfully presses you into your seat from fear and surprise.